Of Straight Jackets & Corsages
by Her Name Is Erika
Summary: In which Desiree thinks Jeremiah Trottman is really weirdly sexy, Kat is torn between between the sexes & Rebecca is trying to stay sane during prom season.


**A/N: Here's my new oneshot. It's Rebecca-centric and I have a couple of OCs who are different and way out of my comfort zone to write. But as a writer, that's important. This is Rebecca-centric so I only ask that you only read with an open mind. I'm putting emphasis on open mindedness because while this was absolutely fun to write, it wasn't something I'd usually write. If you don't have that and feel the need to flame me for no apparent reason such as pairings/characters and such, then click the BACK button on your browser and go somewhere else. I will not put up with that kind of shit if tolerance isn't in the vocabulary. **

**Disclaimer: No. Maybe in an alternate universe, sure. But not in this life. Just Rebecca's roommates. I own them and loved writing them. Oh and the whole Rebecca calling James "Jamie" doesn't belong to me either. That belongs to my good friend, Ariana (Underneath All Elsewhere). I just found it cute. Just giving credit where credit is due.**

* * *

Rebecca Howard drives her cherry red Toyota Camry into the Pacific Coast Academy's Senior parking lot on that breezy September two thousand and eight day and doesn't know what to expect.

She meets her roommates, Desiree Gallagher and her red burgundy hair and hazel eyes are the first thing Rebecca notices ("Hey. You must be Rebecca. I'm Desiree," the girl introduces with a smile and shakes her hand shortly before releasing it. Her luggage is at Rebecca's feet still. Desiree chuckles. "And yes, I'll put it out there – I'm a nymphomaniac and love sex preferably with a guy."). She hails from the Los Angeles area.

And then Rebecca meets Kat Sawyer, a spunky girl with a notable raspy voice and openly bisexual. Kat's hair is blonde with black streaks strewn throughout and stops a little after the base of her neck. And her signature fringed bangs at the front. Kat smiles warmly and shakes her hand as the stud in her right nostril gleams before letting go ("Hi Rebecca. I'm Katherine Sawyer but call me Kat and I'll love you forever," her blue eyes sparkle a little. "I forgot the complementary straight jacket but welcome to the Mad House cleverly disguised as this dorm.").

So, in summary, Desiree is the redheaded nympho from LA and Kat is the sweet, spunky tomboyish girl from New Jersey but Rebecca learns that day that being too expectant never really helps so she eases up a little bit.

Rebecca starts James Garrett in early February two thousand nine.

He has this subtle sexiness and charm that softens her up. His personality just meshes with hers eerily well. James listens to her. James just understands so much, Rebecca has no choice but to open her heart to him after being closed off for some time.

And he never judges her.

She _appreciates_ that very much.

.

.

.

"Kat," Rebecca asks the reflection in the vanity mirror. "Am I being overly stupid right now?"

Kat's reflection shows up in the vanity mirror because in actuality, she walks from taking a shower, washing the incredibly long day down the drain in a Mango Breeze scented haze and drops her supplies in the mini basket near her bottom bunk. From classes and college craziness to that meeting with Michael because he's emceeing and Kat's the deejay along with the other group of people that make up the prom committee, Kat wants to hibernate in her bottom. However, for her, she finds the strength to chuckle at Rebecca's question.

She blinks amusement playing up on her lips.

"That's kind of vague and ambiguous, don't you think? Here," she offers and Rebecca turns around in her seat to face the mirror. "I'll tie that up for you, babe."

Rebecca smiles gratefully, handing her friend a hair scrunchie.

"You rock. Know that?"

Kat shrugs and concentrates on working that incredibly, want-to-run-my-hands-through-it, soft dark brown tresses into a high ponytail, but Rebecca keeps her bangs and a few wisps of her hair escape and frame her face delicately.

"Yeah, but there's humble pie and all that shit. There," Kat breathes, and solely by accident catches the lavender and jasmine scent that trails the brunette wherever she is. Holy crap, her voice is _still_ there? Rebecca turns around while Kat sits on the carpet across from here, an impish smile on her face when she crosses her legs Indian style. "Now, care to me to tell me why you feel you're being – quote on quote – overly stupid?"

Because Rebecca is slowly becoming That Girl and she dearly isn't. She slowly is becoming one of those girls who worry about corsage style, the boutonnière staying fresh and her long dress that is a tie-dyed blend of every shade of purple – the colours all swirl and blend in completely harmony and Rebecca falls in love. She shouldn't be worried about it even though it hangs in the back of her closet and hangs onto her every curve beautifully.

"Because Prom Fever is spread quickly ad I can't believe I caught it," she sighs. "Maybe it's because I wasn't here to go to Junior Prom, and I hated half of the bitches at my old school anyway, but I guess it's Senior Prom so it's just naturally bigger with higher stakes."

"Ah, Mad Prom Disease. I think I'm familiar with the symptoms – neuroticism, wasteful anxiety and optional foaming at the mouth in extreme cases."

Rebecca rolls her eyes, good-naturedly.

"Thank you, Dr. Sawyer."

Kat brushes fringed bangs out of her blue eyes and grins fully so it reaches her eyes.

"Dr. Sawyer sounds kinda sexy. I'm keeping that."

"Feel free but you never answered my _overly stupid_ question."

Rebecca's cute when she worries. She's cute when she's exasperated. She's sinfully angelic when she sleeps – not that Kat actually takes a mental picture of her in her mind because that's kind of weird. But Kat finds herself somewhat powerless under Rebecca's expectant gaze.

"The answer to your question is yes," Kat answers but offers a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. You have a hot dress and an equally hot, gentleman of a boyfriend."

Also known as the boundary Kat knows she can't cross because James treats her best friend above and beyond well and that's more than enough.

"Sweetie, stop sweating the small stuff."

"Okay."

Kat positions herself so her pierced navel is caressed by the plush carpet and it's sort of ticklish.

"Besides, if there's anyone with Mad Prom Disease, it's Desiree."

Rebecca reaches up to lightly pull on her to tighten her ponytail a little.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and ask why."

"Because Desiree is on a mission to be on Jeremiah Trottman's arm for prom. I think, and I may be horribly wrong, she may actually may like him. Not for sex but actually really like him."

"Oh, wait," Rebecca pauses, her laughter ceasing, face serious as Kat's and she gasps. "You weren't kidding. Desiree and _Jeremiah Trottman_?"

"I know," Kat says, with a light yawn. "I thought the world was ending too."

.

.

.

Rebecca thinks Desiree Gallagher is one of the most interesting – well, that's in the running for Understatement of the Year – characters she's ever encountered in her life. But she won't trade in the red hair, and the innuendo-laced and weird and borderline sense of humour. Rebecca won't trade the laughs even when the redhead is trying to not be funny when she's actually being dramatic. And if there's anyone who is PCA's Number One Lady Gaga Super Fan, it's _definitely_ her.

Desiree's sitting at the lunch table, sighing down at the piece of Triple Chocolate Cake, complete with tempting shiny, silver fork.

"Why did you get that?"

"Because Becky, I'm bummed," she explains, dipping her pinky in the dark brown frosting. Sticking the finger in the mouth, Desiree releases a satisfied moan, but she's still sad and she's never been this sad for too long. "Damn, why is this so good?"

"I thought you were all about dramatically cutting back on the desserts."

Desiree pulls her pinky out from in-between her glossed lips.

"Yeah, well, Jeremiah Trottman won't look at me!" Desiree cries, exasperated. "And everyone capable of a boner – "

"Desi!" Rebecca cries, eyes wide. But her friend sighs and rolls her eyes. "I'm not being a prude but god!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I meant 'erection'," the redhead pouts and digs her fork into the chocolatey confection and asks the question like Rebecca actually has the answers. She doesn't but she listens. "I mean, Jeremiah Trottman won't look at me once! Anyone capable of an erection for me to go down on, _always_ does!" Desiree takes another forkful and chews through her mouthful. "I mean, I was swimming and think I gave some of the guys whiplash when I was getting out all glistening and wet. Well, you know what?"

"What?"

"The reason why Jeremiah is probably not paying attention to me is because a) he's gay or b) his junk is probably broken and he has half a testicle. Yes," the redhead proclaims, adamantly setting the remainder of her half eaten chocolate cake aside. "That's exactly it!"

"You know that's not the reason, Desi."

"Denial was fun until you crapped on it," Desiree in turn, shoots her way, glossed lips turning into a slight pout.

Yes, Rebecca thinks while slightly snorting in repressed laughter, Desiree probably reads the Karma Sutra before bed every night and has a book called My Life As The Orgasm Whisperer.

It's a work in a progress, Desiree affirms.

"But why are you into Jeremiah Trottman that much?" the brunette questions with a slight wrinkle of her nose. "Not that I'm against it, it's just – "

"Weird?" Desiree finishes. "Yeah, I know."

"So," Rebecca scoots over to her friend, chocolate cake long forgotten as it silently sits and festers in the chocolate-y, confection goodness. Her tone is softer. "Why Jeremiah when you basically have guys tripping over themselves to be with you?"

A small smile graces her glossed lips through a horribly-executed warning look.

"Stop buttering me up."

"Is it working?"

"I feel the ego skipping around semi-happily, so yes," and then Desiree frowns, glancing at her impeccably, manicured nails. "But newsflash: sweetie, they want my big boobs and ass both of which are actually natural. I swear, it's like they've never seen a skinny white girl have a front and junk in the trunk. They see this," she gestures to herself, talking with a sincerity Rebecca has never seen in Desiree before, even though they've been friends since September. " – and think _Ooh, future porn star _when I'm actually going to UCLA to be a Broadcasting Major because I want to an anchorwoman or," she smiles very wide and Rebecca smiles softly back. "at the very least work on EPSN because who _wouldn't_ love to see and interview hot, muscular, sweaty athletes?"

"Yeah," Rebecca nods. "I can see how that would be a fun job."

Desiree rakes the red hair out of her face.

"But I got the cake so I can eat it, have my ass blow up and maybe there will be a reason for Jeremiah not wanting me anyway," she sighs, looking at Rebecca with those sad hazel eyes. "Yep, I'm still bummed, Becky. Why does he have to be so _cute_?"

Rebecca sighs, opening her arms. "Who needs a hug?"

Desiree hugs back, her head on Rebecca's shoulder. "Me."

"You know you're an attention whore, right?" the brunette giggles.

Lifting her head and pulling away from the warm embrace, Desiree grins, revealing a perfect smile and her hazel eyes sparkle.

"The original, baby, and I'm going to find the hottest prom dress to prove it."

"Atta girl."

The two girls share a laugh before settling into comfortable silence.

"Rebecca," Desiree lets another smile shine through and takes her hand. "You're a good friend."

.

.

.

Kat is experiencing one of those days.

The ones that don't fit feel right for no particular reason. The whole balance feels different – the air is different and more (how does she put this into proper terms without sounding all rambley and screwy?) crisp. Yes, Kat will stick to that and pray that it miraculously sticks.

In between going over some new choreography with the generally sweet Lisa Perkins because this choreography is a tad harder than what Kat is used to, dealing with a New Student Manual **Welcome to Julliard** package and putting together the hottest prom playlist with some requests thrown in there, Kat is fending off the onset of Mad Prom Disease.

It's freaking contagious, especially since girls are going under the Jekyll-Hyde effect and the dates suffer for it.

Damn. She could really use a cigarette right about now.

Kat is planning all of this but while getting to her dorm is the sole conquest – well, the cigarette is sort of number one but that can wait. Sort of – she catches a boy named Eric Moore in her line of vision, looking a little and maybe even a little dejected. Kat only hangs out with Eric a little more than a handful of times but knows that he's a boy who likes to hide behind a camouflage of dark clothes, beanies to control the mop of dark brown hair, and the rumour that he's selectively speaking most people think he's mute and can't speak at all.

And really, Kat thinks Eric has the most beautiful brown eyes she's ever seen on a boy.

"Eric, hi."

He looks up and blinks before acknowledging her, "Wow, Kat Sawyer," and then he smiles. "To what do I owe this great honour?"

"No catch," she sits, propping a leg covered in sweats on her knee. "But I saw you looking like your dog just died and you know me," she shrugs. "I just have to be a nice girl. I'm not good at being a bitch and ignoring you or _anyone_ for that matter. So, what's wrong?"

Eric shrugs, "Just a lot of prom bullshit and I'm just tired of drowning in it. Someone doesn't have a date and it's like you grew twelve extra heads."

She's really tired and now would be a great time for a smoke while she's with Eric. Kat smokes Marlboro brand cigarettes to stay closer to her grandfather. He dies when a little after twelfth birthday and Kat swears she's not being dramatic about it, but it leaves an imprint on her life. Her grandfather is the only person who fully understands the confusion Kat initially goes through the initially confusing sexuality and ultimately discovering that she still likes boys but has a very strong inclination towards girls as well – she's not gay but she's not straight either.

"Want one?"

"Sure," he says, when he pulls a cigarette out of the box and places it between his lips. Cupping his hand over the flame, the end of the cigarette becomes red and inflamed. And that first drag is really the highlight of Eric's day. Well, second because apparently, because he's heading to Columbia University to become a Fine Arts major slash English minor in the fall. "Prom totally blows."

Kat does the same Light Up and Inhale For the Most Feel-Good Drag motion as Eric.

Suddenly, she's freer and not so tired. Ah, sweet nicotine.

"I'm the deejay so I have to pretend to be excited about it," she places the cigarette between her lips again and inhales, releasing a smooth trail of smoke.

"Must be nice," he replies, and offers a half-smile that's almost invisible. "For you, I mean."

"So, question," Kat pauses, cigarette between her fingers while Eric's is almost to the filter. "How about we stew and brood over the nightmare and the fact that it's actually sort of hypocritical because we're going together?"

Eric's eyebrows are raised so high they almost seem to disappear.

"Are you asking _me_ to be your prom date?"

"Are you accepting?"

Eric laughs to himself while Kat takes another drag from the cigarette that has been smoked three quarters down.

"Oh, Kat. You're a brave one, aren't you? Because according to PCA, I'm mute, a serial killer with already long repertoire of victims and my favourite," his grin is a little satirical and cheeky. "a vampire. You still want to go to prom with me?"

Kat sighs, rolling her eyes because that is so high school – the place where everyone is stuck in a fucking clique. And those who just don't fit one are just given a backstory that is so far gone from reality because that's how the typical high school status quo stays intact.

"Look," she inhales her last drag and stamps out the cigarette butt with her sneaker. "Eric, yeah. I'm all for giving to prom with you. I'll take up miming, carry pepper spray and take a few more martial arts classes to upgrade a belt colour or two. And hey, my blood AB positive," and Kat smiles genuinely. "I'll risk my neck literally so you in or what?"

"You're not going to let this go."

Kat nods, "Stubbornness is my best and worst trait."

Eric inhales his last drag and puts the end out with his Converses. There's a genuine smile that's starting to show, revealing the beginnings of in his cheeks.

"Since when do you have dimples?"

"Oh, you know. Just one of the many things passed down the branches of my family tree," Eric answers. "It's a date, Kat. How many people have bragging rights to say they took the school deejay to their senior prom?"

She stands glancing at her watch. By this time, a nap before she gets started on the remainder of her paper on the Renaissance sounds really good.

"Just you, Eric. And maybe, in our anti-prom thing, we'll have fun."

Eric shrugs, sardonically and reveals his crossed fingers. "Maybe."

And maybe, her cheeks are turning pink under his beautiful, brown-eyed gaze.

"I'll see you later, Eric."

"Okay."

Kat is blushing, cheeks warm and something that could feel like old school butterflies in her stomach and the confusion feels fresh and new again.

.

.

.

"Can I see your prom dress?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Okay," she sighs, smiling because she loves her boyfriend and his blue eyes seem to be quickly developing as her Achilles Heel. "It's purple, Jamie. That's all you need to know."

James places a hand on her thigh and places a light kiss on the crown of her head.

"Are you sure I can't get a little, tiny sneak peek? I mean, whether or not I see it, I can bet you'll look incredibly beautiful in it," he reasons softly in the unusually peaceful boys lounge in Maxwell Hall. He's stroking her arm gently and Rebecca likes that. "You already look amazing in those Uggs."

"Shut up," she releases a laugh behind her warning. "I wear these all the time."

"You still look nice in them."

"Thank you," she accepts the compliment and reaches up to peck his full lips. "But you're still not seeing me in my prom dress. It's a girl thing, sweetie."

James sighs, acting as if he's wounded but he cracks a smile regardless.

"Fine," he says, looking her in the eyes. "But don't stop me from buying you the best corsage to go with your dress. And I'll guess I'll have to go out and buy a purple tie or something."

"Don't worry. I won't stop you, Jamie. Promise."

There's a lot of cuddling, close touching and kissing as she plays with her little blond hairs at the nape of his neck and he's holding onto her waist a little tighter.

But Rebecca won't kiss her boyfriend and tell.

It's a good Thursday for her. The end. Fade to black.

.

.

.

Desiree is shallow, vain, and maybe even a bit hornier than usual when she's completely on one of those pot trips of hers. She also gets to be the stepsister of Logan Reese for four months before the whole marriage thing disintegrates and it gets so old for her because the marriage with Malcolm is a three ring circus. And her mother is a fucking cougar. She doesn't like talking about her father too much. Because he leaves her and ends up buried six feet under the ground.

And he promises _never_ to leave.

Even though Logan and Desiree don't live in the same house anymore, they do stay as close as two people running around in two completely different social circles can. Don't ask how because it's really weird to her. But that's not important.

What is important is the fact that Desiree isn't as stupid as she looks. Playing dumb is easier, however, and she lives by a _don't ask don't tell_ mentality and she'll basically do whatever she wants. She's not blind and can see the one-sided crush Kat has on Rebecca who's currently over at Maxwell with that wonderful hunk of man Desiree can't touch. Becky's her best friend and even she has morality fiber that remains concealed away.

Just because it's there that doesn't mean she has to deal with it.

But yeah, Kat's crushing on Becky who's in a serious relationship with James. And Desiree is just, well there. At least her yellow mini-dress is going to look totally and completely hot with the right accessories come Saturday night and her pre-prom pedicure with the gold accents on her big toe keep her super happy.

Desiree's sitting on her bed, reading Bram Stoker's, _Dracula_, for the third time.

The first time, Desiree sees a tiny spider on the carpet and uses one of Kat's books to kill it and added with curiosity the book falls open and she begins to read. And for the second time, Desiree reads it because there's a thunderstorm in full swing and she's completely bored. The book saves her sanity and she's somewhat grateful so she's reading it again.

And now for the third time, Desiree's reading it because it's actually not that bad of a book.

"Hey."

"Oh," Desiree doesn't even see Kat walking in and shutting the door behind her. "Hey Kat."

"Um, what are you doing?"

Desiree flips another page of the book while sitting Indian style. "Reading one of your books. The _Dracula_ one because it's actually not that bad because this dude is badass. It doesn't totally suck."

Let's establish something here: Kat hates _Twilight_. She hates the whole damn franchise. Because clearly Stephenie Meyer doesn't understand the whole vampire thing and the whole "I'm Edward and I'm all tortured and want to bleed the whiny chick I'm in love with dry. But ooh, I'm all glittery and sparkly in sunlight so I'm not that much of a stalker!" idea is completely pulled out of her ass.

Kat pulls off her sneakers and walks over the mini fridge, grabbing a new bottle of Zingleberry Blix.

"Ooh, progress. From a spider-killer to an actual book," the blond says sarcastically. "Better that than the literary monstrosity that is _Twilight_. Read one chapter of that mess and felt my IQ drop."

"Hey. In New Moon, Jacob's all shirtless and ripped. The trailer was pure insanity just for that reason. Well, to me anyway," Desiree says looking up from the book. "Taylor Launter in the movie as Jacob Black? Fuck yes, I'd tap that."

Kat rolls her blue eyes good-naturedly and enjoys the taste of the dark coloured Zingleberry Blix sharp on her tongue. She's one of the few people who actually like the flavor. Excuse her for not being a Conformist Flavour-Liking Corporate Puppet.

"One of these days, you're going to end up getting a restraining order and probably plastered all over Entertainment News Weekly."

Desiree can't pull her eyes away from the pages and she flips another page.

"Bitch please," Insert Patented Dismissive Wave here because the whole Sassy Snap in a Z motion in really overkill. "I'll be on Entertainment Weekly when I land my EPSN dream job."

"So," Kat peels off her socks, revealing small feet that only fit into size six shoes. The room's silence again. Desiree's reading, Kat is really conflicted because she may have the sweetest, misunderstood boy for a prom date and still she's so confused and frustrated and Rebecca's not back yet. But as a _friend_, she cares. God, she cares. "Where's Rebecca anyway?"

Desiree lowers the book, and Kat can see the clear questioning her hazel eyes. The redhead sets the book in her bed, bookmarking her page and hops off the top bunk, questioning complete with those hands on her slender hips. Her foot is tapping impatiently against the carpet and Kat feels like she's about to be corned and have her back pressed against the hardest wall.

"Why do you care?"

"What kind of question is that?" Kat fires back. "We're all friends. Are you saying I _shouldn't_ care?"

Desiree sighs because she's not as stupid as she looks. She really is.

"Well, she's with James. So there," Desiree says. "Kat, I know you like her. You like her in _that_ way, okay? I'm just telling you that I know. I just play oblivious because," Desiree shrugs, and her shoulders fall slowly. " – well, it's expected of me, but yeah, I know."

"I'm not supposed to but I do. I wish James was an asshole but I couldn't hate the guy if I tried."

Desiree shouldn't care because there aren't a lot of people that really yank on whatever's left of her heartstrings. Unfortunately, she's born with somewhat of a soul and the remnants of her conscious.

"Okay," Desiree sighs, crossing over closer to where Kat is. "I'm going to do this for you partly because I'm in a good mood today. But just in case, I have a hidden baggie of pot ready to be smoked so I can go get high and forget about this."

"Do what? Desiree, what are you – mmph!"

There's lip gloss being smudged when Desiree grabs the sides of her face only to catch her lips expertly. Kat is stunned into submission because her lips are warm and she smells like lavender and jasmine which is intoxicatingly good. There's a moan that somehow escapes the back of her throat because of her soft dark brown hair through her fingers and _her_ tongue is running along her bottom lip and sending Kat into an ecstasy she's not supposed to enjoy.

And then there's that flash of red hair and Kat has to stop.

This whole thing has to stop because it's Desiree and it's making her panic so she rubs her lips of the evidence with the back of her hand.

"What the _hell_?" Kat asks, frantically and Desiree just blinks. "Did you just decide to get shit-faced two days before everyone else and _kiss_ me?" she sighs, heart racing from the adrenaline. "Look, if this is your way of coming out of the closet – "

Desiree cuts her off, "No one's coming out of the closet. I like guys, thank you very much."

"Then why did you kiss me?"

"You weren't exactly fighting back."

"I was confused, Desiree!"

"I kissed you because it may not be Becky's lips but in a weird way, I felt for you and wanted to even in an even weirder, fucked off way, wanted to heal you, I guess," Desiree snorts, rubbing her bottom lip with her thumb. "Don't worry. In a couple of days, I'm going to be high and this will be forgotten," she says and her voice is even. "Kat, go with Eric and have fun on Saturday."

Kat's jaw slightly hangs open. And if she doesn't know any better, Kat will think Desiree is actually eerily clairvoyant.

"How did you know about that?"

"Through the grapevine, honey," Desiree says, with a smirk. "News travels fast here."

"I swear, are you bipolar?"

For once in her life, there's a small but genuine smile that touches the other girl's features.

"No," Desiree answers, flipping her red hair off her shoulder. "I wore him down by promising he'd at least get some ass by being my date so I'm going to be on Jeremiah Trottman's arm for prom on Saturday, there's a baggie of pot that I get to smoke and booze at the after party on the beach, and believe it or not, I actually like you. I'm in a good mood, okay?"

"Thank you?" is the awkward, questioned reply even though it's not intended.

"You're welcome. So, how do you about feel about Eric in the meantime?"

"For starters, I get butterflies and he makes me blush."

Again, Desiree reverts back to being semi-bitchy and it's the only thing remotely normal so far.

"Well, that's not my problem, is it? Just make sure you look hot."

Oh, there's the shallow, bitchy Desiree she knows and sometimes comes to tolerate.

The world is right again.

.

.

.

Le sigh.

It's actually my first entry in this thing ever since my Gran sent it to me. Smells new.

I have a little time to write before I get dragged out again to go put together something decent for tomorrow's festivities.

Oh, God. That was a pretty sad attempt at the being French when I clearly have English-Aussie blood. But I was born and raised in Jersey so I'm a pure Jersey chick. I'm the baby of three kids and we all have names that start with the same letter – my older brother Kevin who's twenty four and lives in New York (well, Manhattan because he just started as a cop with the NYPD over there), my older sister Kylie but to me, she's Kiki. She's twenty-one and is the golden child going to Yale and she's well on her way to med school. So, she's going to be Dr. Sawyer in the future. Not me. And there's me – aged eighteen as of March of this year and a fully licensed driver. I'm going to move in with my brother so I don't pay for residence. And because I'm going to college in the same state as my brother, I'm going to get a car so I don't share with Kevin and can actually drive my ass to school unless he gets one for me.

(Yes, three kids with the same letter? The acronym doesn't sound great anywhere expect a white supremacy group. Just a side thought.)

I don't have a car now because well, it's complicated and I feel weird driving in California.

More Desiree's motherland anyway.

My family is awesome and understanding about my bisexuality so I'm happy and can't wait to meet up with my brother in New York for the summer. Kylie will meet up with us later when school isn't draining her life force.

Hmmm. What else is there to write about on this Friday?

I guess, I could write about the fact that tomorrow is prom so the last touches are being put together. It was productive on my part because my playlist is made and I'm quite proud of it. I know everyone's going to like it and get loose. I do have another one for the after-party because of the inevitable debauchery bound to happen. On top of that, prom starts at eight tomorrow tonight and guess what?

I'm not half blonde anymore! My hair is permanently dyed black and I loved the new haircut I got. Get this: to handle my blonde roots, touch ups are only five bucks! I cut it a tad shorter and my bangs are rougher and swept off to the side. It's all tousled and it surprised me how many times I had actually gotten my ears pierced with my realizing it because usually I'd shrug it off because my hair covered them. Not anymore.

The lady who dyed and styled my hair was all, "Aw, sweetheart. You have beautiful blue eyes. You don't have a mean bone in your body and you're very warm."

Oh, so I'm a thermostat. Okay. Moving on.

I have my ears pierced three times going upward from both lobes. And I want to get my left cartilage pierced again today because I'm left handed.

Sigh.

I have to admit that I still am very much in love with Rebecca. I just saw her on that first day and it kind of snuck up on me. But yeah, I've come to terms with them and I understand that I can't have her. At least not right now. Not when she's so happy and James puts a smile on her smile that is from the inside out. And it doesn't help things that whenever I see Eric and hang out with him, I get butterflies and I blush afterwards. He's just so cool and even though it's been two days of chronic togetherness, he told me he's enjoying it. Showed the dimples a couple of times. It really doesn't help anything at all. But he's a sweetheart, a talented multi-instrumentalist and someone who is very deep and thoughtful even though society makes him show that insight in a way that is different. His inside is way different from his outside. It sucks but that's just who Eric is. I don't know if I like him and if us being in the same state for college is coincidence, fated or just plain weird.

He makes me laugh with his dry humor and is mysterious and dark enough so when we're apart, I'm left super intrigued by him and wanting more.

So, we'll see what happens with Eric and me.

Lots of waiting and nail biting to see what happens in the future in New York.

I like Rebecca and would like nothing more than for her to be my girlfriend, but she's happy.

That's what I have to tell myself. But if James hurts her, I'll cut his testicles off painfully one at a time.

Holy effing hell.

This entry is longer than I planned so that's a wrap. My thoughts are closed for the day.

I'm going shopping with the roomies for prom stuff and just this to put it out there before anything else: I'm _not_ wearing a gown with glitter and Christmas lights. And no high heels either. Absolutely **not**. But I do want to go to a place where they sell a lot of fedoras. Maybe a black one with sliver trim I can wear later, perhaps?

Ooh, that'll look really hot.

Desiree's screaming at me, the crazy bitch. I mean that in the somewhat affectionate sense. Besides, Rebecca and Desiree locked up all of my fedoras because I'm banned for the night. Aw, I thought these ladies loved me.

Okay, gotta go. And this journal now smells like fresh ink. Go figure.

Deuces from Jersey,  
-Kat

PS. Anyone who can operate normally with acrylic nails is a beast :) The new nails (black streaks across the white tips) are sexy and I can turn tables with them, play music by pushing buttons etc, but fuck, they're kinda weird.

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Heyy Journal,

I'm happy for three reasons:

1) I'm Jeremiah Trottman's prom date. He's super cute, okay? He's just as passionate about the whole news caster anchor thing as I am. I didn't promise him sex (that's how you know I'm serious and I'm not a slut. Nympho and slut are two different things) but he has a hot girl on his arm. And even though there's nothing serious that will ever happen between us, it's okay. ESPN, here I come!

2) HOT NEW YELLOW DOLL BABY MINI DRESS FOR CHEAP & NEW BLACK LEATHER STILETTOS FOR HALF PRICE! BOOYAH! (Ow, my hands is cramping when I write in all caps but this is self explanatory and well, a girl's dream. There is that Versace clutch I got too but we won't talk about how I got that. End.). I'm going to look amazing with my new hair and I thought about this. You ready for it?!

Low side ponytail with my bangs swept to the side. Lauren Conrad did something like this and I thought it was really pretty for my face and well, the tiara space. And the beautiful thing is that when I sleep and wake up the next morning – it'll be exactly the same way. Just a little touch up curling. The hairdresser was all about the people's eyes. It was weird.

So because mine are hazel with flecks of green in them when you're really close to me, she says I'm all playful because I have the eyes of a feline. I have kitty eyes. Ha, I'm a little sex kitten.

Scarily accurate so I gave her a tip.

I found a skinny black belt to go with the dress, black clutch purse, and black heels. And I lovelovelove my legs and I'm short so the stilettos are needed for my height.

Just have to raid my big box of accessories to tie it together.

AHHH! I'd be happy dancing, but you know – new mani-pedi. I'll wait until prom to dance.

3) Last reason, I went shopping with Becky and Kat. Not only did I get some pretty bitchin' things but Kat is banned from the whole fedora thing and she behaved. But she's no fun. No strappy heels for her. She said she'd melt my jewelry together if I bought her a grey (BOR-ING!) dress and a cute pair of heels.

But Kat got something really hot to wear while she mans the music at prom tonight plus a couple of belts that I secretly want to borrow later. Damn the blindly cuteness.

And felt the need to get her top of her left hair pierced so Becky and I went with her. Now, there's a sparkly stud in her ear.

Kat's ensemble for prom is really cute since I chose it from the top up and the accessories. She wanted to choose what she wore from the waist down. Fine with me.

My writing stops here. I'm going to figure out which makeup works with my dress now.

Today was a busy day.

XOXO  
Desi

PS. For a romantically confused chick, Kat's a good kisser. I'm not gay or anything. Just an observation.

PPS. Yeah, I'm getting Kat a special pink fedora for a graduation gift. Not sure what I can get Becky yet. I may have to sleep it on or something. Now, my writing ends.

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Dear Journal (and I really need to buy a new one. My dad would be proud.)

Kat was right about the whole Mad Prom disease thing. She always is right. It's crazy here.

I thought about changing the colour of my prom dress but purple sticks. I didn't get my hair done or anything because I'm going to wake up, wash it and just do loose waves with a curling iron. My RevoStyler is a lifesaver and basically my hair crack. It curls my hair or it can straighten in all at once. Yes, I'm one happy gal.

I spent the day watching my girls get their hair done and don't tell her but I had to do a double take because her hair looking amazing on her. Desi's hair looked super cute and she's been beaming ever since she practically wore Jeremiah down. I don't know what she said to him but obviously it worked. And then I went shopping for some hair accessories and a few graphic tees and some denim short shorts to wear for a Boston summer.

My nails are just a standard French manicure with white tips and I can't get over how cute my dress will be. My toes are equally happy and light purple to go with my prom dress. And James actually bought a purple and his boutonnière is in the fridge so it's fresh when I give it to him.

I wasn't sure when I came back that I was going to make any friends when I came back.

But now, Kat and Desiree are my best friends and I will love them for forever.

I just found out I got into Brown University as a Psychology major which makes my dad very happy since my father is Dr. Daniel Howard, a psychologist and my mother is a lawyer still working at the same law firm in Boston with Chase's mom (oh, and if you're wondering – yes, there's no bad blood between Chase and I and while Zoey and I aren't close friends we're acquaintances and that's good for me) while James got into the University of Rhode Island as a Political Science major.

While I want to call him and tell him the great news that we'll be in the same state, my boyfriend can wait because Friday night – especially this one – is all about tear jerking movies and my girls.

There's popcorn that is sinfully buttery and a movie about to start.

Nighty-night,  
-Rebecca

PS. Note to self: Buy a new journal. Running out of pages. Again, Dad would be proud.

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It's prom night finally.

Kat wears a grey top that is fashionably askew with her left shoulder with her rocking new haircut. There are black skinny jeans with designs across the back pockets, dark eyeliner that's not too trampy and _just right _and light makeup that makes her glow. One silver marbled cuff that Kat actually finds cute and silver hoops that are Desiree's and makes her feel hoochie and whorish, but secretly, the lifelong tomboy actually feels _really girly_ and for once, it's okay. But black high top sneakers are her heels because Kat's the musical ringmaster of this bass-pounding circus and she's gonna dance.

Desiree feels like a rockstar who sparkly in a bright, cheery yellow. Her red hair is her most noticeable asset and she wishes that is her best bet for being noticed sometimes (and of course, her personality but she can be fun without the sex). But there are black heels on her feet with her makeup giving the taste of inevitable stardom as an ESPN reporter. But tonight there's an itinerary of dancing, extreme partying into the wee hours of a California night and maybe a round of Beer Pong.

Rebecca wears a purple dress that is flowing and catches motion when she moves. _You look beautiful sweetie,_ Kat says in a tone so gentle it almost makes a tint of pink graces her cheeks. _James will love it_. And she's never been so assured and felt so secure around James before. The irony of them getting together is so obvious but kind of comforting at the same time.

Desiree says with that signature smile of hers, _Honey if you don't get some post-after party sex with that cute man-candy of yours, then he's obviously blind. Or discreetly cross-eyed. _

Kat has to meet Eric in the gym, and Jeremiah is going to meet Desiree outside the lounge while James comes to her door like the gentleman he is and slip a pretty floral corsage on her wrist.

But Rebecca wants to remember one of the best nights of her life.

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All Rebecca needs are the best friends a girl can have, genuine smiles from the _inside out_ and the flash of a digital camera to seal the memory forever.

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**A/N: My hundredth piece!! AHH! I can't believe it I've reached this milestone. And I'm fucking overjoyed because the fandom is somewhat booming again and I don't feel like I have to hold the fort down myself anymore. YAY! This wasn't even the top choice but I started writing it and I couldn't stop until I wrote it all out. Did think it would take this long. But Six Months is being written in my notebook like right now because I can really sleep and stuff. So really Six Months will be my 101st piece which is sort of significant if you get the show title and what I'm getting at. Lol. **

**Hope you warmed up to her new friends as well. I liked writing them very much.**

**Reviews would be nice to get in the morning. Please and thank you.**

**-Erika **


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